The expectations in relationship and in our culture for what it means to be a man often comes down to a big erection that works every time. The prevalence of porn has communicated unrealistic ideas about sex and sexuality. Join sex therapist and popular author Laurie Watson and couple’s therapist Dr. Adam Mathews as they explore the complexity of male sexuality. Sponsor Visit rexmd.com/FOREPLAY to get started today – that’s rexmd.com/FOREPLAY and you’ll receive up to 95% off this holiday season. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
We may know what the big turn offs are but there are many small things that kill desire. In today's episode we are discussing invisible turn offs that end up taking sex off the table without you even realizing it. Join our expert hosts, Dr. Laurie Watson and George Faller, LMFT as they review these 'microfractures', signals that you don't know you're sending. Stress, feeling hangry, irritability can all signal to your partner that they aren't important to you. Cell phones, social media and distracted minds dilute connection between partners and quickly eliminate connection. Our hosts share how familiarity of your partner can sometimes cause rejection. The more predictable you are to one another the less curious you will be. So what can you do? Start to notice your partner, pay attention to them with intentionality. Put your phone DOWN and connect with your love. Spend time giving each other prolonged kisses, longer gazes and more attention. These little actions can lead to big connections, decreasing turn offs and increasing turn ons! Keep it hot, y'all! Please checkout this episode's sponsor (and help the pod!): RexMD.com -- Discrete, confidential, online treatment for ED. Use the link to get up to 95% off your first order! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Recovery from an Affair – The delicate process of recoveringfrom an affair; what works best for restoring the relationship. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In today's episode we are discussing sex and spirituality. Sex and religion are often clashing ideals that can be shaming, rigid and rule-based. We invite listeners to explore the space between, where sex is an intimate connection between partners. Where people can create their own slice of heaven. Join our hosts, Laurie and George as they peel back the complicated layers between sex and spirituality and cite various views of sex from different religions. Many religious teachings try to show partners how to love one another better, honor their sexual connection as a way to be closer to God and provide boundaries to keep that connection sacred. There is no right or wrong answer in this discussion, rather a thought-provoking conversation to see where spirituality and the connection to the spirit and soul shows up in your intimate connection. Do you consider sex a place to transcend with your partner? Let us know what you think and share your comments on our instagram @bravelovegreatsex Check out this episode's sponsor (and suport the pod!): Uberlube.com -- Laurie's absolute long-time favorite lube, from way before the podcast began! Use the code 'foreplay' to get your 10% discount. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Are you always having what feels like the same fight? Does the negative cycle leave you feeling frustrated and angry? Or misunderstood and like you're failing? Can you see what your partner does clearly but not see how what you do is contributing to the problem? George and Laurie use and acronym T.E.M.P.O. to help organize your thinking so you can be less reactive. Getting to know your feelings, what your body is communicating and how you are making sense of it all can give you emotional intelligence. Find the "space" that can change the pattern so you can help each other in these difficult moments and stay connected. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In this episode, Laurie and George explore a pattern they see often in therapy but rarely hear women talk about openly: growing up under-touched—not abused or mistreated, but raised with too little warm, affectionate contact. Many girls learn early to be “little adults,” self-reliant and emotionally contained, with parents who provided care but not soothing. Inside, they adapt by dialing down their need for touch and connection. As adults, these women often struggle with desire, sensuality, and responsiveness—not because they’re broken, but because their bodies never learned that touch is comforting, safe, or connecting. Laurie shares her clinical insight that erotic shutdown can be a predictable outcome of emotional neglect and under-stimulation, especially for women who are socialized to mute their physical needs. George joins her in mapping how attachment deactivation, low interoceptive awareness, and a lifetime of caregiving roles shape many women’s sexual experiences. Together they offer hope and clarity: with attuned affection, emotional safety, and pressure-free touch, the erotic body can awaken. Desire isn’t missing—it’s been waiting for the right conditions to flourish. Check out this episode's sponsor (and support the pod!): cozyearth.com -- the softest sheets and blankets you'll ever experience! Use the code 'foreplay' at checkout to get up to 40% off in their Black Friday sales while supplies last! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Erectile dysfunction in men 45 and older in a partnered relationship is a problem with solutions. Listen to Laurie and Tony distinguish physiological ED and partnered ED and offer approaches to solve this problem in this podcast spurred by a question from a listener. If you want Laurie and Tony to address a question you are concerned about, email info@foreplayrst.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In today's episode, we discuss reinforcing positive cycles. There is a lot of talk about disconnection and negative cycles but what about when things are going well? Join hosts, Laurie and George to learn how to reinforce when it's going well to build out more positive interactions. A building block of attachment is adoration, to be looked at by a caretaker with sunshine in their eyes. This signals, you are good and you matter to me. This need never goes away and it is very important in adult intimate relationships. In sex, couples often make eye contact and signal this tenderness with their gaze. This episode will give you language and real life examples of how to make positive connections more explicit and reinforce that connection. Learn how to embrace the vulnerability around when things are going well and share it with the one you love! Check out this episode's sponsor (and help the pod!): cozyearth.com -- The softest sheets we've every tried! Black Friday is starting early! Get up to 40% off while supplies last by using the code 'foreplay'. uberlube.com -- Laurie's long-time favorite personal lubricant! Try it if you haven't! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Variety and creativity in sex can both make our sexual relationship sizzling, but it can also be a source of tension. Join Laurie Watson, author of "Wanting Sex Again" and her co-host discuss variety! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In today's episode we discuss finding the reframe; your partner's differing perspective that isn't always obvious. Emotions like irritation or frustration are often signs of disconnection in your emotional or sexual cycle. You feel you are lacking and more easily lose patience, create a negative meaning about your partner and get stuck in your move. The reframe helps you see what's happening from a different angle. You'll still be experiencing the disconnect but you'll have a better ability to communicate with your love about what is going on for you and learn what is happening for them. The reframe is one of our favorite tools to use in therapy and we know it will be so useful for you! Even Laurie gets in on the reframe action today as George helps her see another perspective in a current situation. Learn how to shift from a place of not having enough patience for your partner to understanding and openness. Keep it hot, brave lovers! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
What to do when your partner shuts down. In the second of Gottman's 'Four Horseman' series, Dr. Adam and Laurie address this destructive behavior and how to get through the seemingly unbreakable barriers of a silent a partner. Like us? Send us some love on Patreon: www.patreon.com/foreplayrst Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In today's episode, our hosts answer a listener's mailbag question. If the sex is good, why don't I want it more? Join George and Laurie as they help our listener answer this question and explore possible reasons behind this dilemma. Perhaps it's dissatisfaction, difference in desire, asexuality or emotional and sexual blocks. There are many avenues to consider and we approach the topic with lots of curiosity. We thank our listeners for being brave to send in these important mailbag questions and remind them that they are not alone in their struggles. Let us know what you learn from today's episode and don't hesitate to send us your very own mailbag question! We are here to help our audience and want you to always keep it hot y'all! Check out this episode's sponsor: Uberlube.com -- Laurie's long-time favorite personal lubricant! Check it out! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The popular conception is that a larger penis results in better sex. Join author and certified sex therapist Laurie Watson and her co-host psychologist Dr. Adam Mathews as they talk about the real world impact of penis size on sexual satisfaction. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In today's episode we are discussing receptivity and initiation. Receptivity is about receiving and responding to cues from your partner. Some partners may be sexually receptive or emotionally receptive meaning they need their partner to initiate the cues first and then they can respond. Join our hosts, George and Laurie as they breakdown what this looks like in relationships and the negative trap that it can sometimes create. If you often find that your partner doesn't initiate emotional conversations or sex negative meaning is often created, as "they don't care." Our hosts, warn that this pathway is a block to connection and it's more relational to remember that having to cue your partner is not always a bad thing. This conversation is sure to get you think about how you show up in your relationship and what you may need to do differently. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sounds pretty discouraging if your partner says she'd be fine never having sex again. Laurie and George discuss how to get to the root of what she's saying. Using an acronym O P L E A S F helps us organize what has obscured her libido. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
As the saying goes, you can have it all just not all at once. Have you ever brought up a complaint to your partner only to be met with their complaint? This is a common relational trap and leaves partners chasing too many conversations at once and feeling more defeated. Join George and Laurie today as they offer guidance on how to slow this pattern down and focus on one conversation at a time. Caregiving needs, emotional needs and sexual needs are all important but we need to stick to one at a time if we ever want to get anywhere. If you've ever found yourself caught in this trap, this episode will help you and your partner stay focused on your individual experience, how to communicate that with vulnerability to your partner and how to listen with empathy and compassion. Staying the course on one topic at a time will help partners have more effective conflict and work to get some of these needs met. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Join us for a sample conversation with "Eleanor" who is always anxious about sex, preoccupied with whether or not she is pleasing her husband, but unable to be present for her own experience. She doesn’t want to risk hurting her husband even if it would make the sexual moment better for her. Her husband thinks she's not into it, but hear how she worries and actually thinks about it constantly without ever knowing if her husband is happy with her. We have heard hundreds of similar stories about the disconnects that can happen in sexual relationship. We invite you to consider opening up a discussion with your lover about their experience in sex. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In today's episode, we are discussing life and relationships after an affair. Most often people think that relationships are over after an affair. However, that is not always the case and many couples can successfully repair their partnerships after this betrayal. Join George and Laurie today as they breakdown affair recovery steps and what the betrayed partner and the partner that had the affair need to heal. We discuss the different types of affairs and the motives of pursuers and withdrawers alike. We want to instill hope for couples that are facing this challenge that relationships can heal and recover from affairs. It takes a lot of deep heart-centered work but couples that have made it to the otherside are often able to write a new chapter in their bond. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Why and how does the frequency of sex decrease in a marriage to the point where it rarely happens? Join sex therapist and author Laurie Watson and couples therapist Dr. Adam Mathews as they dissect the genesis of a sexless marriage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In today's episode, we are talking about desire based on the work of sex therapist, Dr. Emily Jamea. Dr. Jamea shares that your partner can contribute to your desire but they can't create it. Join Laurie and George in an engaging conversation on who is responsible for the creation of desire in a relationship and how this affects pursuers and withdrawers alike. Their dialogue addresses the effect of how caretaking duties affect sexual desire and how each individual partner can work to create internal eroticism. You'll find yourself asking these questions, "what gives me the tingles?, do I want them or what do I want?, and what would turn me on right now?" Make sure to download this and share with your lover to answer these questions together. Keep it hot, y'all! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Christal Seahorn
The podcast says to sign up for the couples' session on Oct 4; where is the contact or sign up information. My podcast player doesn't have any details or a website.
Lisa Gorman
This episode felt very traditional, as in male female rolls towards sex... And also no openness towards any type of partner. I feel like that type of assumption throughout the episode was somewhat single-sided and even though I am a pursuer, left me feel somewhat unheard in working towards resolution with my withdrawler husband.
Ann-Margaret T
He's probably cheating.
ForexTraderNYC
excellent idea..to challenge the social constructed ideas n write our own script instead of following sum1 elses..we can borrow ideas we deem useful n chuckout bad ideas..just as we wrote college papers in college days .
Maximus Meridius
horse Feathers